The Best Moves Ever: QuackenDriver III

I appreciate all wrestling moves and holds that look good. Submission wrestling is awesome, so awesome I created a tag and a failed social media movement for it. High-flying moves are spectacular to look at. However, as much as I love all those moves, my wheelhouse is, and always has been, head dropping moves. Granted, you don't see them as often anymore with concussion safety coming more and more into the minds of folks everywhere. I'm fine with that. Just leave the head drops in my video games and bust them out in key, sparing spots, and I'll still love 'em to death. For all his lucha libre wizardry, Mike Quackenbush's four finishing moves that bear his name, the Quackendriver suite, are all sublime head drops. I tried looking for IV, which was the closest one to my primary e-fed finisher, the Russian neck drop from WWF No Mercy, but I couldn't find an iso. Instead, here's Quackendriver III, an off-leg spinning fisherman's driver. It's still freaking awesome.

The Best Moves Ever: 3D

Of all the tag team finishers, there are probably two that battle for the most iconic in history. With apologies to fans of teams like the Rockers and Demolition, it comes down to the Road Warriors and the Dudley Boys. If your wheelhouse is in the '80s and early '90s, you're probably in the camp of the Roadies and their Doomsday Device. If your prime time as a fan was in the late '90s, then it's 3D. If your golden years as a wrestling fan is sometime in the last decade, you're probably asking yourself "What's a tag team?" Anyway, I like both moves, but if I had a gun to my head to pick, I'd probably go with 3D. IT just looks like it'd be more effective. Plus, as shown below, it's a lot easier to put someone through a table with it.

The Best Moves Ever: Air Bourne

A few people do or have done the shooting star press. It's a pretty move, maybe the happy medium between flippiness and impact. Some do it better than others. I've said it before, and I'll say it again though: Man, I love being a turtle Evan Bourne's variant of it is form-perfect. Love it. Here it is.

The Best Moves Ever: Cattle Mutilation

If you don't know that I'm a huge fan of Bryan Danielson by now, then you'll never, never ever know me, NO YOU WON'T... err, I mean, well, I'm a huge Bryan Danielson fan. He's got a vast array of submission holds even now as a member of WWE, but there's one that he left behind in the indies for whatever reason. It's very much his signature hold, and even if it's not the most effective looking move of the lot, it's definitely the most impressive looking one. Its technical name may be the grounded bridging double chicken wing, but you and I both know it as Cattle Mutilation.

The Best Moves Ever: KTFO Punch

Continuing with the theme from last night's Six Pack, here's maybe the simplest finishing move in WWE, but probably also the best. There's nothing fancy about Big Show punching dudes in the grill, but would you want his giant ham hock of a hand careening at you in a fight? If the answer is yes, then you have balls of steel. Here's maybe the best sell-job of that punch, by Heath Slater at WrestleMania, in Youtube form now instead of .gif form.

The Best Moves Ever: Slingshot Sitdown Powerbomb

You ever see something and go "DAMN, that's one of the best things I've ever seen" right away? I had one of those moments Monday night. During the EXCELLENT Miz/Mysterio match, there was one spot that jumped out at me right away as one of the top moves I've ever seen. A slingshot sitdown powerbomb, executed perfectly, bumped perfectly... just AAAAAAWESOME.

The Best Moves Ever: The Razor's Edge

Scott Hall/Razor Ramon may have fucked up a lot of things in his career, but his finishing maneuver wasn't one of them. A lot of people have done variations on the crucifix powerbomb, and a lot of them are good, but I think I like Hall's version the best. Here it is, the Razor's Edge, or the Outsider's Edge, if you will.

The Best Moves Ever, Punk Week: Pepsi Plunge

CM Punk's finisher before he got to WWE was a top rope pedigree called the Pepsi Plunge. He couldn't do it in WWE for obvious reasons, but other than the doofus son-in-law (I will forever love Punk for that line, by the way), it's a good thing he had to adapt because he'd have Rey Mysterio knees right now if he had to finish every match with the Plunge. But that doesn't make it any less awesome of a visual. Here we see him doing it to some dude in Hammer pants right on top of Colt Cabana.

The Best Moves Ever: Cutthroat Driver

Fun fact about Mark Briscoe. According to his brother Jay on Twitter, his weight can vary between 205 and 220 lbs. each day. I was curious and I had to find out the reason:

I haven't gotten an answer yet, but knowing the Briscoes? That's probably it. Anyway, this is the Best Moves Ever, not the Best Trolls of an Indie Tag Team Ever, and there was a point to that anecdote. It wasn't a good one, but hey, I hope you guys got a laugh out of it. Anyway, Mark Briscoe is also known for his version of the Burning Hammer, only with some cutthroat action going on. It's, obviously enough, known as the Cutthroat Driver. Take a look.

The Best Moves Ever: Ceiling Rana

I don't need to tell you how awesome Chikara is, or how energetic and fun Frightmare is, or that the following spot is probably one of my favorites from last year. But I'm posting it again. Why? IT'S MY FUCKIN' BLOG, DAMMIT.



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

The Best Moves Ever: Koji Clutch

I swear, I had this move queued up before CM Punk busted the Summer of Punk 2: PUNK HARDER on us Monday night. I swear to God. This is just coincidence. But yeah, the Anaconda Vice isn't the only submission move Punk busts out from time to time. No Michael Cole, this isn't the Vice. It's the Koji Clutch. Christopher Daniels uses it too, but I already highlighted him doing it. This is Punk's world, we're all just a bunch of drunks trying to kick booze in it.



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

The Best Moves Ever: Jackknife Powerbomb

Kevin Nash has earned a reputation for being "lazy" over the years. I'm not here to dispute or mollify that claim, but I have to wonder if part of that has to do with the execution on his signature jackknife powerbomb. He releases mid air rather than guiding the victim down. I'm not sure of how "lazy" that is or not, but regardless, it looks cooler than a regular powerbomb. Here's a 60 montage of jackknifes!



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

The Best Moves Ever: BRAINBUSTAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

For those who remember, and if you do, thanks for sticking with TWB for these 2+ years so far and DAMN you have good memories, the first ever move highlighted in the history of this feature was a little ditty known as the BRAINBUSTAAAAAHHH! by El Generico. In the spirit of rebooting and such, here it is again. This may be my favorite current indie finisher right now. A regular brainbuster can be hit or miss depending who's doing it and how they're able to demonstrate the impact. If it's not done right, it just looks like a suplex. However, this one, you can't deny where the impact is. Not. At. All.



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

The Best Moves Ever: California Roll

I went to Youtube this morning without a move in mind for this week's installment. On my home page, this move came up on my recommended videos. I don't know who's doing it, or who it's being done to (although apparently, before Crossbones got hurt, this was his finisher), but it looks amazing. It's like an Angle Slam, only done quicker and crisper. It almost looks like a hybrid between a fireman's carry and a powerslam. It's called the California Roll or the Friggin' Sweet Driver, but either way, it's an impressive looking move.



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!

The Best Moves Ever, Macho Week: Flying Elbow Drop

I know, I did this move before. But you know what? I don't care. It's Macho Week, and there isn't any move that's associated with "Macho Man" Randy Savage more than the flying elbow drop from the top rope. Seriously, the flippy flips look good and all, but is there anything better than watching a guy drive his elbow through his opponent's chest from an elevated height? I DON'T THINK SO, OOOH YEAH DIG IT.



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!